Among Dragons (Editing)

Chapter 14

I barely even remembered the rushed journey into Aurelia's castle. My mind was numb to all activity around me, only processing the beautiful decor and people. Everything dripped with gold and other spectacular pieces of jewelry. Just looking around at the women made me feel like a dirty pebble in a bag of polished gems.

It was also very crowded in the village surrounding the castle. Honestly, it had reminded me more of a city. Niram had to constantly squeeze around others while he dragged me behind him by my wrist. Every once in awhile, he had looked back at me with a curious gaze, like he was asking if I was okay. It had been so hot from the amount of people and activities that the tips of his dark hair were dampened.

My ears had picked up random bits of conversation at times, but for the most part, I just heard the buzz of language and sounds. Some shrill cries of merchants had broken through the muffled voices while they advertised their items. It had been almost comforting, to be lost in all of the noise. It kept me from my thoughts.

Now, though, the silence of the castle was heavy. It left a sturdy platform for my thoughts to shine on, for my memory of the night before to play out without interruption. The ghost feeling of the blood on my skin made my mouth go dry.

"Eris?" Niram's smooth voice cut the silence around us.

"Yeah?" I responded, flashing him a smile that I hoped he took for me being okay.

"Are you sure about seeing her now? I don't want you to push yourself if you're tired."

"Niram, I'm fine. I told you that already. I can handle myself, okay? Last night was just a startling experience."

His gaze on me felt heavy, as if he was testing whether or not my facade would hold. It did.

A low sigh escaped his mouth and he ran a hand through his hair roughly. "Okay, okay. I believe you, let's go."

I followed him down the glittering hallway. The air was pleasantly warm and inviting, and it smelled like honey.

Niram still had hold of my wrist. The feel of his thumb absently stroking over my skin sent a trail of fire all the way through my nerves. I decided that the movement of my feet was very interesting, and kept my gaze there instead of looking up and chancing that he'd see the obvious blush across my cheeks. I wasn't sure he even realized that he was doing it.

It was a relief when we finally came upon the grand mahogany doors that led to Aurelia. Niram pushed one of them open carefully. He winced when it creaked with the sound of age.

My eyes lit up upon looking around the large, cavernous room. The ceiling was high and pointed up at the top. It was illuminated with fires giving off a warm, yellow light. Braided strings of golden fabric also hung down from the ceiling and attached to the wall to give off a canopy sort of look.

"Seer, welcome," A low voice cooed from in the distance.

My eyes traveled over in the direction of the noise, catching onto the sight of a man with so much gold adorning his body that the flickering reflections from the fires almost hurt. He also had so many piercings on his olive skin that I lost track just trying to count a handful.

The smile he flashed us was just as bright and eye catching as his jewelry. "I see that the prophecy was true, then. It's a pleasure to be in the presence of a Seer. I never dreamed of this day."

"Is Aurelia ready?" Niram asked, preventing any small talk from surfacing.

The Reader dragged his eyes over in Niram's direction, the inky brown gaze shifting across his form.  "And who are you to ask?"